The inhabitants of northern Chile’s Huasco province describe themselves as living in a “sacrificial zone.” Stretching across a fertile valley, the area was once renowned for the flowing Huasco River, providing a green oasis and agricultural hub at the extreme south of Chile’s Atacama Desert. But over the last two decades the valley has become littered with numerous industrial projects, the malign environmental impact of which is impossible to quantify.
A gold mine in a nearby glacier has caused the river to dry up and olive crops to diminish. A giant pig slaughterhouse has been stinking up the air of the nearby village of Freirina, forcing villagers to live with the constant foul stench. Yet many of the 8,000 residents in Huasco town believe they face an even greater challenge than that of defending their natural habitat.
“Everybody here knows somebody close to them who has cancer,” says resident Soledad Fuentealba, “Seeing all of our friends and neighbors dying has driven us to take action.”
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/opinion/special-reports/25608-the-huasco-river-valley-a-look-into-chiles-sacrificial-zone
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